What Can’t Be Debated on Campus

Pilloried for her politically incorrect views, University of Pennsylvania law professor Amy Wax asks if it’s still possible to have substantive arguments about divisive issues.

ILLUSTRATION: JOHN CUNEO

By Amy Wax

Feb. 16, 2018 9:51 a.m. ET

There is a lot of abstract talk these days on American college campuses about free speech and the values of free inquiry, with lip service paid to expansive notions of free expression and the marketplace of ideas. What I’ve learned through my recent experience of writing a controversial op-ed is that most of this talk is not worth much. It is only when people are confronted with speech they don’t like that we see whether these abstractions are real to them.

Too few Americans are qualified for the jobs available. Male working-age labor-force participation is at Depression-era lows. Opioid abuse is widespread. Homicidal violence plagues inner cities. Almost half of all children are born out of wedlock, and even more are raised by single mothers. Many college students lack basic skills, and high school students rank below those from two dozen other countries.

We then discussed the “cultural script”—a list of behavioral norms—that was almost universally endorsed between the end of World War II and the mid-1960s:

Get married before you have children and strive to stay married for their sake. Get the education you need for gainful employment, work hard and avoid idleness. Go the extra mile for your employer or client. Be a patriot, ready to serve the country. Be neighborly, civic-minded and charitable. Avoid coarse language in public. Be respectful of authority. Eschew substance abuse and crime.

These norms defined a concept of adult responsibility that was, we wrote, “a major contributor to the productivity, educational gains and social coherence of that period.” The fact that the “bourgeois culture” these norms embodied has broken down since the 1960s, we argued, largely explains today’s social pathologies—and re-embracing that culture would go a long way toward addressing those pathologies.

POTUS has proposed increasing the gas tax to help pay for roads and bridges. Electric vehicles don’t buy gas (and therefore don’t pay this tax) but do use the roads and bridges. The amount of electric vehicles on the road is currently small. So, what say you? Something has to change, but what?

Release the FISA Documents

The public deserves to see the full record on the FBI wiretap request.

Carter Page speaks with reporters following a day of questions from the House Intelligence Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Nov. 2, 2017.PHOTO: J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE/ASSOCIATED PRESS

By The Editorial Board

Feb. 11, 2018 4:16 p.m. ET

President Trump Friday refused to declassify the Democratic memo on the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA), sending it back for negotiation with the Justice Department over intelligence sources and methods. This intelligence memo feud has become a frustrating political back and forth that needs to be trumped with more transparency.

Mr. Trump claimed in a tweet on Saturday that Democrats laid a trap with their 10-page memo, deliberately adding classified material that they knew “would have to be heavily redacted, whereupon they would blame the White House for lack of transparency.” That may be true, but it worked. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer quickly sent out a statement, “what is he hiding?”

Our sources say the Democratic memo—six pages longer than the GOP version released a week ago—has three main themes. The first argues for the credibility of Christopher Steele, the former British spy who compiled the dossier that the FBI used as the bulk of its justification for a wiretap on Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. The second is that the FBI had good reason to surveil Mr. Page, and third is that the GOP memo is partisan.

A big Thank You to our 3 speakers for sharing their insights and answering our members questions! What an informative meeting! If you weren’t there, you missed out.

It’s time to discuss education and who would know better than Board of Education members!

Class is in session starting at 9:00am this Saturday, February 10th at Amazing Grace Community Church, 541 E 99th Place in Thornton. Admission is $5 with a continental breakfast and beverage included.

You’ll learn what’s going in with teachers, graduation rates, Common Core, finances, if education has changed with Betsy DeVos at the Department of Education, and other items. And we always save room for questions at the end.

Our speakers will include Norm Jennings from the Adams 12 School Board, along with Roger Good, president of the Steamboat Springs School Board, and Pam Mazanec from the State Board of Education

Roger Good
Roger Good was past President of the School Board Member for Steamboat Springs District Re-2. Roger Good retired from a thirty-five-year career in the high tech industry where he had the opportunity to spend much if his career involved in international operations. He received his MBA degree from CSU and was recruited to serve on the advisory board to the business college in 1995. Since then, Roger has remained very active in education related activities for the past twenty years including serving on the Steamboat Springs granting organization that provides funding to multiple local school districts and community groups that support educational opportunities for k-12 students.
Currently Roger is a member of the BEST (Building Excellent Schools Today )Board and he is also a member of the PACE (Professional Association of Colorado Educators) a nonunion based association for educators.http://www.sssd.k12.co.us/

Adams 12 Five Star Schools is the policy-making body for the district. Its powers and duties are established in state law. The Board is comprised of five members that are elected to four-year, staggered terms. Board members may serve two consecutive terms. The district has a director district plan of representation which requires that school board members reside in a specific geographic area within the Five Star School District boundaries. Board members are elected by a vote of the electors of the entire school district. The district’s Boundary Locator provides information regarding director districts for specific addresses. Board members are not paid; they give freely of their time to serve the Five Star community.https://www.adams12.org/departments/board-education

Pam Mazanec (R)

Pam Mazanec was elected to the State Board of Education for the 4th Congressional District commencing January 9, 2013.

Pam was born and raised in Colby, Kansas and went on to earn a B.A. in General Studies from Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas. She enjoyed a career as a legal assistant in Wichita and Colorado before deciding to spend time at home with her children and actively engage in their schools. Together with her husband, Pam has been a small business owner for 15 years.

Pam’s passion for education began during her experience serving as PTO president and volunteering in the classroom and in sports booster clubs during her children’s years in Douglas County School District. She currently serves on a School Accountability Committee and as a director of Great Choice Douglas County, a non-profit organization supporting school choice.

Previously, Pam served as a director with the Kansas Association of Legal Assistants (KALA) and Vice President of the Colorado Paralegal Association (CPA). She is a graduate of the 2012 Leadership Program of the Rockies (LPR) and, in February 2012, was a recipient of their first “Leadership in Action” Award for her support of the Choice Scholarship Program in Douglas County.

Pam is passionate about school choice. She supports allowing parents to direct education funds to the school that best fits their child’s needs, whether public or private. She is also a supporter of ongoing innovations in charter schools, magnet schools, online schools, schools of innovation, and homeschooling. Pam understands that a well-educated citizenry is vital to Colorado’s economic future and America’s national security. She is dedicated to seeing all Colorado children succeed and understands the critical role that education plays in their success. She is also interested in improving civics education and the wise management of taxpayer dollars.

Pam and her husband of more than 30 years, Leon, have lived near Larkspur for 25 years, where they raised two children. They enjoy celebrating events with their very large families and camping on horseback.

Newt Gingrich: Here’s my strategy for keeping a House Republican majority in November

On Wednesday, I was honored to speak at the Winter Meeting of the Republican National Committee about the how important and impactful the 2018 elections could be for America. Below is an excerpt of my remarks.

Let me thank all of you, particularly those I was just chatting with, for your generosity. I have been active in the Republican Party a fairly long time, longer than the younger people here have been alive. And I want to talk to you from the heart. When Ronna and I talked about coming by, I think it was precisely because I had enough distance to look at these things and to be involved on a number of occasions.

First of all, I thought last night’s State of the Union rivaled anything that Ronald Reagan did. It was just astonishingly effective. President Trump found specific individuals whose stories weren’t just important as wonderful human stories, but they each illustrated a part of the American tapestry in the American culture in a way that reminded all of us America is such a wonderful country. I thought it was a very powerful and very effective speech. Read more …

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Please join us to discuss current Colorado political issues from The Right Side.

The NSRF meets on the second Saturday of every month from 9:00 am-11:00 am at Amazing Grace Church, 541 E. 99th Place in Thornton . Use the north door to enter. Admission is $5 per person. Coffee, orange juice, bottled water, fruit, & pastries are included with your admission.

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